Dosing dispensers are known, for example, from DE 202 07 029, DE 202 08 173 or DE 202007018065 going back to the applicant.
In the known dispenser the component to be discharged is sucked at a vacuum in the pumping chamber from the receiving compartment by an inlet valve into the pumping chamber that forms a compression chamber in the stroke between piston and cylinder. In case of opposite movement of the piston, i.e. a compression, the component is compressed and pressed out via an outlet valve and discharged toward an outlet at which the component is discharged to the outside of the metering dispenser.
Known dosing dispensers have a most delicate structure to manufacturing tolerances. The components forming the inlet and outlet valves are made of a relatively resilient material, for example, a thermoplastic elastomer manufactured in a separate manufacturing step and clamped between the component forming the cylinder and the housing. Due to the design of the valves, a very low swelling behavior of the components is required for the proper function of the valves, particularly of the resilient materials, which as a rule cannot be guaranteed with the partly aggressive elements of the component. Therefore, a secure dosing out of the component with the dosing dispenser by actuation of the handle can only be ensured in case of low swelling behavior of the sensible components and tight manufacturing tolerances.
It is assumed that a generic dispenser is to be formed with the present invention that can be produced more easily and the manufacture of which allows for greater tolerances and permits a higher swelling behavior of the components.
To solve this problem, a dispenser is proposed having the feature of claim 1 of the present invention. This differs from the generic prior art especially by a multi-part valve element, which forms a valve associated with an inlet opening and an outlet valve or exhaust valve associated with an outlet opening. Expedient embodiments of the invention are characterized by the features of the dependent claims.
The inlet and the outlet valve formed by a first and a third valve element are formed correspondingly of at least two components that preferably may be formed with an intermediate element in form of a plate spring. Due to this development, the complexity of the function of the individual parts is low and the input valve and the output valve may be designed with different individual materials and functions.
To improve the control of the flow of the component within the metering dispenser, especially in the compression of the piston and cylinder, it is proposed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention to design the outlet valve by a valve disc, or a collar having a central bore hole, the bore hole being sealingly clamped between the intermediate member and the cylinder. This outlet valve leads to an annular channel which is usually formed by the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. Accordingly, the collar preferably rests on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder and sits on this outer peripheral surface in the closed position of the outlet valve. Below the abutment surface of the cylinder for the exhaust valve, the cylinder can be chamfered or beveled for favorable flow characteristics in order to optimally seal the outlet valve with the cylinder. Thus, the outlet valve and the cylinder are preferably formed as cylindrical members having a circular cross-sectional area.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is proposed to mount the output valve at the end face of the cylinder with the intermediate element as the second valve element. The output valve as a third valve element and the intermediate element are correspondingly fixed within this dosing dispenser at the end face of the cylinder. Any type of fixing, for example a material-locking fixation by gluing or welding of the valve elements is conceivable.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which renounces such separate manufacturing steps for connecting the valve elements with housing parts of the dosing dispenser, the valve element is clamped as output valve between the cylinder and the intermediate element. The housing accommodates the pumping unit, is preferably connected with the pumping unit by means of welding, and supports moreover the receiving compartment for the component which can be latched with the housing. In order to clamp the outlet valve between the cylinder and the intermediate element, the intermediate element has preferably several radially encircling sealing rings that sealingly abut at the end face of the output valve.
The cylindrical opening in the center of the intermediate element serves particularly the objective to form a passage for the component flowing through the input valve. The component to be discharged flows first, if applicable past a locking plug, which is fixed to the housing, due to the lifting of the first valve, through the inlet valve into a valve chamber between the intermediate element and the input valve and then further through the opening in the intermediate element into the cylinder space of the pump. In addition, the output valve is centered by the cylindrical projection of the intermediate element and is fixed as a unit depending on the assembly process by a preferred undercut at this cylindrical projection of the intermediate element with intermediate output valve in the bore on the end face of the cylinder.
The first valve element as inlet valve is preferably formed similar to the outlet valve as disc which has a bore in the center. The bore is sealed in the closed position by means of a cylindrical element connected with the housing, something that, in one embodiment, for example takes place by a plug that is fixed with the housing, the first valve element abutting on the plug, so that in the pressure stroke (material discharge from the dispenser), the opening of the first valve element is closed. The input valve is resilient and due to this resilience, the inlet opening is released in the center by suction pressure. The free movement of the inlet valve is promoted in a preferred embodiment in which the inlet valve has a greater outer diameter and is clamped between the intermediate element and the housing, where the clamping region of the intermediate elements has a maximum diameter.
The inlet valve is preferably centered with the outer diameter in the housing and tightly connected with the intermediate element. In order to clamp the inlet valve between the housing and the intermediate element, the intermediate element preferably has several radially encircling sealing rings that tightly abut at the outlet valve.
The inlet valve can also be designed as gravely acting ball, particularly as a steel or glass ball, which seals on the housing and opens by lifting. In doing so the intermediate element is tightly connected with the housing and seals preferably between the outer diameter of the intermediate element and inner diameter of the housing.
In this embodiment of the inlet valve, webs are preferably mounted on the intermediate element as spacers to the ball so that the ball cannot seal at the intermediate element and so the component can flow unhindered into the pump.
As another embodiment of the input valve, a ball- or cone-shaped closure element is provided particularly in form of a plug which is for example formed by a plug at the side of the housing or by a plug disposed in the center of the inlet valve, the plug being supported by webs extending substantially in the circumferential direction and are outgoing in the exterior at an annular part of the inlet valve.
The sealing element can be pressed advantageously by the resilient force of the webs in the unpressurized state onto the sealing seat of the housing and hence closes on its own, i.e. automatically.
The radial or circumferential webs have accordingly a relatively small thickness. When opening the inlet valve, the closure element is raised from the sealing seat on the housing so that the inlet valve releases the inlet opening.
The overall cylindrical outer circumferential surface of the first valve element allows an easy assembly within the housing of the dosing dispenser. The inlet valve is tightly installed between the housing and the intermediate element.
In all embodiments, the intermediate element can be designed as a plate spring and can thus compensate manufacturing tolerances of the components. In addition, the circumferential sealing rings of the intermediate element can take up other manufacturing tolerances in combination with the resilient material of the output valves and depending also on the design of the input valve and the function of the valves without impairing or altering their function.
The valve elements are preferably made of plastic material, in particular of elastic plastic material, with the elasticity or hardness, respectively, being adjustable individually.
The valve element of the inventive dosing dispenser can be arranged in a very space-saving manner with good functionality and the dosing dispenser is thus further formed according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention in that at least two pumping chambers are provided, each discharging into an annular channel surrounding the respective cylinder which communicate with a central discharge channel.
Therefore, the inventive dosing dispenser can appropriately also be a two- or multi-chamber dosing dispenser having two or more receiving compartments for different components which are mixed together only when metering out the dosing dispenser. The mixing ratio is preferably metered by a handle as described in DE 202 07 029 or DE 202 08 173.
Finally, a dispenser is proposed with a further embodiment having a compact structure wherein the components to be discharged are only coming into contact shortly before bringing them out of the dosing device so that components achieving combinatorial effects which react with each other can be discharged by the dispenser without losing their effectiveness by a premature reaction.
The Summary of the Invention is neither intended nor should it be construed as being representative of the full extent and scope of the present invention. That is, these and other aspects and advantages will be apparent from the disclosure of the invention(s) described herein. Further, the above-described embodiments, aspects, objectives, and configurations are neither complete nor exhaustive. As will be appreciated, other embodiments of the invention are possible using, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described below. Moreover, references made herein to “the present invention” or aspects thereof should be understood to mean certain embodiments of the present invention and should not necessarily be construed as limiting all embodiments to a particular description. The present invention is set forth in various levels of detail in the Summary of the Invention as well as in the attached drawings and the Detailed Description and no limitation as to the scope of the present invention is intended by either the inclusion or non-inclusion of elements, components, etc. in this Summary of the Invention. Additional aspects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the Detailed Description, particularly when taken together with the drawings.
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.